If I see a dog in a store where dogs aren't allowed, I'm going to assume that dog is a service dog.

If someone has a well behaved dog, I probably won't even notice them. By law, business owners/employees aren't supposed to ask more than a couple of questions:

Quote:

When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the personís disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.

A badly trained service dog (or a faker with a badly trained pet) is probably going to be noticed more often (and more easily) than a well behaved pet.

I disagree with bringing pets into stores where they aren't allowed. It's something that I would never do.

However, I still stand by saying that I'd rather see a well behaved dog at a store rather than a badly behaved service dog. I'm not going to notice the well behaved dog (except to maybe think to myself that it's awesome and doing a great job), and most people are probably the same way.

I've seen some pretty bad service dogs (or fakers- who knows, I would never ask), and I think those are the ones who are doing the most disservice.

CharlieDog happens to be a service dog handler. She has every right to not want people to drag their pets with them to stores. I'm also a service dog handler, as is Romy, and several other people in this discussion. You need to get off your high horse and realize it's against the law, and you're not entitled to drag your pet with you. It's a pet, you don't NEED it to function in public. We NEED our service dogs to function in public. It's no different than a cane or a wheelchair.

Haven't you said that your SD doesn't go to work or school with you? I mean, if that's true, I assume you're functioning at work or else you wouldn't have a job. Therefore, the statement "I NEED my dog to function" isn't completely correct, nor is it the same as somebody who can't walk using a wheelchair, in your case.

__________________Ella: 3 year old female ferretNacho: ~8 year old male ferretApollo: 5 year old male ferretSummer: 5 year old female ferretGoodbye, Rosey. You were the best girl I could have asked for. 10/15/96-03/08/13

What does being an arthritic retired gym teacher have to do with anything? She couldn't crate the dog for a few hours? Please.

It has to do with me not wanting to tell a semi-crippled old lady who is used to handling unruly kids that she is "selfish and childish". If you want to do that, go ahead, but I feel neither safe nor morally justified in doing so.